With only pure water and useful heat as byproducts, fuel cells directly convert the chemical energy in hydrogen to electricity. Hydrogen fuel cell technology is the most energy efficient technique for extracting power from e-fuels (hydrogen, methanol, etc.). The hydrogen fuel cells also provide clean power for various applications no matter how large the installation is, as well as being pollution-free and having higher efficiency than traditional combustion technology. As there are no moving parts, fuel cells operate silently and with high reliability.
The first fuel cell was created by Sir William Robert Grove, a Welsh scientist and barrister in 1839. Through mixing hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of an electrolyte, he produced electricity and water.
In 1938 Christian F. Shoenbein, a German Swiss scientist, built on the work that Grove had done and managed to create the first observed fuel cell effect.
Over 20 years later, the first practical fuel cell applications happened in the U.S. space program. In the early 1960s, General Electric developed the first polymer membrane fuel cells which were then used in the Gemini Program. The Apollo Program then followed by using the fuel cells to generate electricity for life support, guidance and communications.
Through the usage of hydrogen together with fuel cell technology, it is possible to radically reduce the emissions from carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particles from several sectors.
Hydrogen fuel cells provide great environmental benefits particularly when green hydrogen can be procured. Today, the amount of green hydrogen is not abundant but a lot of industry players are working towards green hydrogen production. It is also notable that a fuel cell is about twice as energy efficient as an internal combustion engine if used in a regular car or boat, for example.
When produced from clean electricity, hydrogen together with fuel cells is seen by many as a critical enabler of the global transition into sustainable energy, as well as a vital component of achieving net-zero emissions economies.
Nonetheless, the global hydrogen market is on the uprise for all the right reasons, and hydrogen will continue to play an important role as an energy carrier, which enables the energy transfer from one place to another.
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells are the most researched as well as the dominating fuel cell technology on the market. The PEM fuel cells are primarily developed for usage in automotive, transportation (marine and aviation), portable and stationary power generation purposes.
This type of fuel cell also:
The electrolyte that is used is a solid proton exchange polymer membrane with good thermal and mechanical stability. However, it requires expensive electrocatalysts, mostly platinum, to support the reactions that occur at low temperatures.
Methanol is the fuel used for a DMFC, which is fed directly into the fuel cell’s anode system, often mixed with pure water. Because of the system’s lower output power of less than 1000 watts, this fuel cell technology is often used to power smaller portable electronic applications, such as battery chargers and similar low-power usage.
The SOFC operates at an extremely high temperature of 650-1000 °C. This enables the reformation of fuels in the internal chemical process of the fuel cell. Compared to PEM fuel cells, which can only use 100% hydrogen as fuel, the SOFC can also use natural gas or biogas as feedstock. The start-up time for a solid oxide fuel cell is very long and the dynamics are slow.
Alkaline fuel cell technology is closely related to PEM fuel cell technology, which uses an alkaline membrane instead of an acidic membrane. The main challenge of the fuel cell is its sensitivity to CO2, which can affect fuel cell performance. The typical lower power density and power range of the alkaline fuel cell compared to PEM cells. Current applications include portable military and residential micro-CHP.
The lifespan of our hydrogen fuel cells is as long as 20.000 hours.
From a technological point of view, a fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel, which is often hydrogen, and an oxidizing agent, often being oxygen, into electricity through a pair of redox reactions.
The fuel cell generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction in which said hydrogen and oxygen are combined to generate:
• Electricity
• Heat
• Water
Hydrogen fuel cells can be used in a broad range of applications, some of which are:
• Powering buildings
• Powering cars
• Hospitals
• Emergency response systems
• Powering trucks
• Portable electronic devices
• Backup power systems
• Data centers
• Telecommunications towers
• Military applications for national defense
Hydrogen generates electrical power in a fuel cell while emitting only water vapor and warm air.
The emissions from a hydrogen fuel cell is pure water which provides great environmental benefits.